Baldur's Gate : The Sword Coast Chronicles : NWN2 Persistent World

DM Bloodlust wrote:A warrant has gone out on an individual calling himself Tyranthrax. The man is a gray-haired human, who combs his hair. James Norton of the Flaming Fist has issued a 4000 goldcoin reward for the arrest of this man. He is suspected of being a dangerous individual to the lands.

Residents of the Gate might have caught sight of the Head Watchknight and her Squire escorting the wanted man to the Flaming Fists Headquesters. While Tyranthrax's hands were bound and the Watchknight kept a firm grip upon his arm it seems the man came willingly and was cooperative.

A rumor surfaced with just a simple line and a crude(yet well rendered), drawing(Screen cap) to some of the taverns and inns about the Gate. ((Kindly ignore the number on top.))

The line reads,

Seems there is more to fear then just the rats in the sewers.

((The Gate has Gators in the sewers....who knew.))

A dirty and disheveled young woman, looking tired and somewhat ill, crawls from the sewer hole in the Harbor district and shuffles over towards the East Gate, much to the consternation of many an innocent bystander's nostrils. She seems to be holding something in her palm.

She makes a beeline for the Blade and Stars, possibly to exploit their bathing facilities. One could hope.

A small rhyme is shared through the streets of Baldur's Gate. Some children from the Harbor District seem to be the most adept at knowing the entirety of the rhyme, while others may suffer from the ear worm and possibly chant or sing in their working moments a line or two.

• Nurtuous foil
  Courteous toil
  Disasterous boil
  Incestuous royal
  
  Oh! How I hear so many things...
  
  Cantenkerous moral
  Obsequies turmoil
  Religious snake oil
  Erroneous portrayal
  
  Oh! How I hear so many things...
  
  Lascivious entoil
  Devious uncoil
  Preposturous roil
  Venomous betrayal
  
  There are so many things I hear....
  

One never knows how far such rhymes travel.....

A small hin walks around the docks.

A man in bardic fashion leans upon the facade of the Water Queen's House, adjusting his drum.

Ckal:Oh... *says the halfling as he approaches the Temple facade*

A bard under the flags of the Water Queen's House, appears to be rubbing oil upon his drum skin.

Ckal: Hello again! *he smiles as he approaches the drummer*

The bard looks up from his drum, and says nothing.

Ckal: You may not remember me. We had a duel of sorts.

Lusca do Pavoroso:: *he lifts his eyes slightly from the drum....and stares at the halfling...a small recognition in his eyes* Aye.

Ckal: I now work with the Baldur's Gate Herald and I was wondering if I could ask you some questions. I could make your voice heard in the paper.

Lusca do Pavoroso: My voice is already heard by many, halfling. But you may ask your questions....and if I feel like answering them, so be it.

Ckal: Wonderful! Mind if I write things down?

Lusca do Pavoroso: We all do as we wish.

Ckal: Wonderful! *he pulls the feather from his cap and unrolls what looks like thick parchment or thin bark. He scratches into the surface briefly* I'm Cal by the way...or Kal, either which way.

The bard says nothing.

Ckal: *he looks at the Water Queen's House behind* So you're a worshipper of the Water Queen?

Lusca do Pavoroso: Yes.I drum to the beat of her power.

Ckal: She has gifted you. You nearly knocked me unconcious when we played last. *he nods and scrathes* Tell me about the Water Queen if you don't mind.

Lusca do Pavoroso: That is not a question, halfling.

Ckal: Will you tell me about the Water Queen?

Lusca do Pavoroso: Ask me what you wish to know.

Ckal: What does she desire? The Water Queen, what does she desire?

Lusca do Pavoroso: Do I look foolish enough to speak the desires of a God?

Ckal: No of course not. *he scratches a line* What do you desire?

Lusca do Pavoroso: I desire...to see that all give tribute to the Queen...she that domains over this City.

Ckal: *he nods, then scratches into his notes*

Lusca do Pavoroso: Alas....so many fail to do so....and at a peril of their own choosing. So be it then!

Ckal: *he nods and scratches some more*

Ckal: Rumor of your drumming has spread across the city.

Lusca do Pavoroso: By my own choosing, I would say. *he grins, wildly*

Ckal: *he glances at the Drummer* Do you feel you have swayed many people to your cause?

Lusca do Pavoroso: It is not my cause to care. I am a voice of power, a song born on the power of the storm....and what happens when the direction of the storm is not read correctly?

Ckal: *he scribbles and says* At best, we go off course. At worst. . .

Lusca do Pavoroso:: *he grins, wildly*

Ckal: *gulps*

Ckal: Have there been people who have tried to stop you?

Lusca do Pavoroso: Not a one....but how could they, even if they tried? Who can stop the storm from coming?!!? And that is what I transmit.... *he grins, wildly*

Ckal:The guards have no problem with your work?

Lusca do Pavoroso: Their are many ways to offend the Water Queen....beyond simply failing to give tribute. I suspect the true Baldurians know this..... *he alludes*

Ckal: *he scratches away* And who are the false Baldurians?

Lusca do Pavoroso: Those that fail to give tribute....of course. *he grins, wildly*

Ckal: *he nods* I . . . *he looks around* *he leans in and murmurs* I heard there were some who tried to stop you. By force....

Lusca do Pavoroso: Lies. Do you see my drum? It continues to send an undulating beat upon the salt-sea air... *he gives a few taps, to emphasize his point*



Lusca do Pavoroso:: *he grins, wildly*

Ckal: *he clears his throat uncomfortably* I heard some of the Fist tried to stop you.

Lusca do Pavoroso: When I am stopped...then I will be dead. Would you not say that is a truthful answer, should any ever be given?! *he grins, wildly*

Ckal: You speak plain truth. *he nods and scratches at his notes* I've found an old note here in the docks.

Lusca do Pavoroso:: *says nothing*

Ckal: Something about burned bramble and some kind of soil. It's a dumb question but I'll ask it, did you write those? *he pulls out a sad, crumpled note; he uncrumples it and shows it to the Drummer*

Lusca do Pavoroso: Halfling...do not let your size match your wit. Does a singer of the storm, the Drummer of the Undulating Beat...does he speak of things that are of the earth?!? Or..does he sing of the glory of the wave, the salt air...the <i>fury</i> and power given from his Queen...the Queen of Baldur's Gate?!?

Ckal: He sings of the Great Queen. *he nods* You're right. Do you know who wrote it?

Lusca do Pavoroso: I may well say...they that would know, would have a thing of....<i>value.

Ckal: *he looks confused and curious* They?

Lusca do Pavoroso: They. *he grins, wildly*

Ckal: I understand. *he nods and scribbles* Are you allies with these people? These Soil people?

Lusca do Pavoroso: I devote my will to the Water Queen.

Ckal: *he nods and scribbles again* If I could take a step back in my questions. . .

Lusca do Pavoroso: *says nothing*

Ckal: Have the guard ever physically attempted to capture you? *he murmurs, then he glances back*

Lusca do Pavoroso: Guards.....*he laughs*

Ckal: So they have? *he looks curious*

Lusca do Pavoroso: I would never let a "guard" take me. *he grins, wildly*

Ckal: That's very evasive. *he grins...then he scribbles*

Lusca do Pavoroso: I am the Drummer of the Undulating Beat!

Ckal: Is there anything you would like me, as a reporter, to know?

Lusca do Pavoroso: Yes....that your endeavors will all fail...unless you give tribute to the Queen. *he says rather directly*

Ckal: *he nods and scribbles* Wonderful!

Lusca do Pavoroso: *he begins to play his drum*

Ckal: Well, I have quite a lot to. . .Thank you for your time!

Lusca do Pavoroso: The Water Queen's House receives those that give tribute....those that give tribute are protected!

Lusca do Pavoroso: *drums an undulating beat*

Lusca do Pavoroso: Pay tribute to the Water Queen...before it is too late.... *he half-sings in spoken word*

/// As this meeting took place outside the Water Queen's House, it is with possibility others over heard some or all of the conversation.

Small rumors start to circulate about piles of kobold ears and heads being left outside the ruins just south of the city.

According to adventurers the undead in the graveyard seem to be growing stronger and more ferocious to those who enter the graveyard at certain times.

Each time it seems to correspond to a woman in grey robes digging graves or interring dead into the undead infested tombs within.

More kobold head piles appear, the cuts becoming more jagged and gruesome...

A half-elf cloaked in green can be seen a few mornings a week dropping off bundles at the Soup Kitchen during these lean weeks. She rarely stays long, and each bundle when unwrapped has a random supply of fish, venison, boar, and fowl, such that can be found in the area or dried for travel from further afield.

A Flaming Fist patrolman was found brutally murdered at the doorstep of the Pathfinder's Hall. A bloody rapier was found in the alleyway near the grisly sight.

Despite the vocal protests of injustice from one man proclaiming to be a Tyrran, and further attempts at interdiction from other eyewitnesses at the scene of the arrest, some of the other bystanders swore that a young woman at the scene was the guilty party, and she was last seen dragged off, struggling, to the Flaming Fist headquarters.

Grimcheese wrote:A Flaming Fist patrolman was found brutally murdered at the doorstep of the Pathfinder's Hall. A bloody rapier was found in the alleyway near the grisly sight.

Despite the vocal protests of injustice from one man proclaiming to be a Tyrran, and further attempts at interdiction from other eyewitnesses at the scene of the arrest, some of the other bystanders swore that a young woman at the scene was the guilty party, and she was last seen dragged off, struggling, to the Flaming Fist headquarters.

A clearly worried bearded man could be seen at the Flaming Fist Headquarters asking about the young woman who was recently dragged off.

*On hearing the news, Ckal drops all work then decorum and sprints his way through and sometimes into people to get to the Fist headquarters as fast as possible.*

*Ckal quickly makes his way back to his office and begins writing. A copy is sent to the Flaming Fist while one is posted on the bulletin board as well as sending copies to the local temples*

A Letter wrote:To whom it may concern,

Currently our dearest and most timid Sparrow has been taken into the custody by the Flaming Fist. She has been arrested for accusations of murder of a Fist guard whose body was found at the entrance of the Pathfinder's Hall. The weapon considered to have killed this guard is a bloody rapier according to what information I could find.

Some witnesses claim Sparrow did this heinous act, however there is no proof of such falsehoods. In fact, there is plenty to prove otherwise. Sparrow's demeanor alone would give one pause after hearing what is obviously utter fabrication. Secondly, she does not bear any true weapons let alone a weapon requiring aggressive training. Thirdly there are witnesses that vindicate our good Sparrow.

We the people of Baldur's Gate and beyond demand that Sparrow be released from the cells. If the guard would like her to remain nearby I myself will keep her with me in the Sword Coast Commercial Exchange. On my honor, she will not leave before she has a fair trial. Lest we become a city that arrests the innocent and tosses them into cells meant for true criminals, we should not allow this incident to taint the name of the Fist or our fair city, most especially our august Sparrow.

Ckalthea Chenfur
Fellow Executive of the Sword Coast Commercial Exchange
Assistant Member of the Foreign Exchange Committee
Reporter and Bookeeper for the Baldur's Gate Herald

*A place is left for people to sign the petition*